Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> With all three Summer Leagues behind us, who is your gratuitously early pick for 2016 Rookie of the Year?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: Four times in NBA history, players from the same team have been named Rookie of the Year in consecutive seasons, and it’s about to happen again. Karl-Anthony Townsis no sleeper pick, obviously, but heimpressed me enough in Las Vegas — and rightfully should get enough minutes and usage in Minnesota — to be my ROY favorite. By winning 12 months after fellow No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins, the two Timberwolves would be the first tandem in 42 years to do it. Those who preceded them: Buffalo’s Ernie DiGregorio (1974) and Bob McAdoo (1973), Portland’s Sidney Wicks (1972) and Geoff Petrie (1971), Baltimore’s Wes Unseld (1969) and Earl Monroe (1968), and the Chicago Zephyrs/Packers’ Terry Dischinger (1963) and Walt Bellamy (1962). For the record, four of those guys became Hall of Famers, three others were All-Stars but only Unseld and Monroe made it as far as the Finals as teammates.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: Jahlil Okafor. He’s got a low post game ready to score points, get rebounds and plays for a team that will need plenty of them.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: Jahlil Okafor will get plenty of minutes, responsibility and touches in Philly, and because his game seems NBA-ready, it’s hard to pick against him. If I’m going off Summer League, my wild card would be Myles Turner, who showed a little something-something for the Pacers, and besides, there’s a big-man vacancy in Indy.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: I would pick Jahlil Okafor, because the Sixers need any kind of offensive production they can get and he’ll get every chance to average 15-20 points per game. But I don’t like that he doesn’t have a competent point guard to get him the ball. So I’m going with Emmanuel Mudiay, who has been given the keys to the Denver offense with the trade of Ty Lawson. The Rookie of the Year generally comes down to raw stats, and the most likely guy to put up big numbers is the guy with the ball in his hands.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: So much of who ends up winning Rookie of the Year depends on the situation — playing time and the role a rookie is asked to play on his team being the most crucial components — that it’s sometimes much more difficult than it appears to simply select the “best” rookie. That said, I truly believe the table is set for Stanley Johnson to steal the award this season in Detroit, if the race is about more than just who puts up the best numbers as a rookie but also who makes the biggest impact on his team on both ends of the floor.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: After the draft I would have said D’Angelo Russell. But now I’m going with Jahlil Okafor, based on his ready-made skills in the post and the fact that the 76ers will be depending on him to score this season.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All-Ball Blog: I watched several of the top rookies in Vegas and Orlando, and the guys who really jumped out at me were Frank Kaminsky, who quickly seemed to find his footing, at least on the offensive end, Karl-Anthony Towns, who can impact games immediately defensively, and Jahlil Okafor, who will get immediate playing time by virtue of being on the perpetually rebuilding 76ers. But to me, the player who has the best chance of being selected the Rookie of the Year is Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay. Not only do point guards historically have a leg up in the ROY race, as they have the ball more often than other players, but Denver also moved Ty Lawson, clearing the way for the Mudiay movement to begin in full.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: All the fakes, creative maneuvers and between-other-guys’-legs passes run together for me. Ginobili’s clutch performances and his various accomplishments (All-Star, Sixth Man) — totally from within a team concept — are too plentiful to pick one. The “bat” game stands out as an oddity — Ginobili smacking that flying rodent and requiring rabies shots back in 2009. But my most vivid memory, witnessed first-hand, was his performance in Game 5 of the 2013 Finals. Nearly 36, Ginobili’s obituary as a player was being written in real time after he averaged 5.7 points and shot 6-for-18 (1-for-11 on 3-pointers) in Games 2-4 against Miami, with the Spurs losing two of those three. So coach Gregg Popovich puts Ginobili in the starting lineup(!) and the Argentinian goes for 24 points (seven in a pivotal third-quarter run) and 10 rebounds at home for a 10-point victory and a 3-2 series lead. He’s been “undead” ever since.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: To realize the full impact Ginobili’s NBA success has had on his native Argentina, you had to be with him, as I was, on a Basketball Without Borders trip to Buenos Aires in July 2005. It was shortly after he’d won his second NBA championship and was perhaps at the peak of his powers. I accompanied a group of NBA players on an outreach trip to a hospital for the indigent in a very poor section of town. The presence of the stars created a buzz, but the arrival of the Ginobili quite literally touched off a near-riot. Patients leaped out of their beds to storm the hallways to try to get a glimpse. They bowed, they cried, they were overwhelmed. Some shouted, “Please touch and heal me!” Some grabbed and pulled at him. The crowds on every floor grew and surged in each hallway, blocking paths to the elevators, cutting off stairwells. Security had to eventually intervene and evacuate all of us through a rear exit from the hospital. I’ve never seen anything like it. Now, if you’re talking about on-court memories, I’ll go with the most recent: Game 5 of the 2014 Finals when Manu completed the redemption from the previous year’s playoff flameout with 19 points in the clincher over the Heat that included the where-did-that-come-from monster dunk on the head of Chris Bosh.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: I’ll go off the NBA floor and say his 2004 Olympics tournament because of the historical significance. Manu dropped 29 on the Americans in the semifinals and led Argentina to the gold medal by averaging 19.3 points in the Games. Argentina became the first team other than the US to win Olympic gold in 16 years. By comparison, the Spurs with Manu won the NBA title what, every five years?

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: There are a lot of small moments, mostly assists (like this one) where he sees things that no one else does. But after how terribly he played in the 2013 Finals and knowing what kind of emotions he must have gone through after that series, his dunk in Game 5 of the 2014 Finals is my favorite Manu moment. It was the exclamation point for the most dominant Finals performance we’ve ever seen from a team, but also for an individual who looked like his career was on its last legs a year earlier.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: I feel ancient knowing Manu is 38 and thinking back to my first time seeing him live and in living color. It was the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis when I got my first glimpse of Manu after hearing so much about him prior to that event. It was actually before he suited up for the Spurs (Manu was Drafted in 1999 but his rookie season in the NBA was 2002-03), but he was the star of stars on Argentina’s team that played its way to the championship, losing to Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. Manu was as advertised, a swashbuckling and athletic shooting guard who could do it all. It was jaw-dropping, watching him play on the edge and at that breakneck pace all the time. He made the All-Tournament Team, joining Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Peja Stojakovic and Pero Cameron. Before seeing Manu live, I was not sure exactly what kind of player he’d be in the NBA. But after watching him closely throughout the course of that tournament, I was convinced he was going to be a superstar.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: I have two. The first was seeing him at the 2002 Euro Final Four in his home gym in Bologna a few months before he joined the Spurs: He was playing the same leadership role that he would establish in San Antonio, and yet there was no big timing to him. He was a humble star even then, as a big fish in the small pond. The other was during a regular season game in Boston last season which the Spurs were winning handily. Ginobili missed a 3 at the third-quarter buzzer and reacted as if a playoff game had been lost. After all of these years it was amazing to see him caring so much about such an inconsequential play. But that’s also why he has been so important.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All-Ball Blog: I’m not sure I have a single Ginobili moment. Maybe when he swatted that bat that time on opening night? When he dunked on Yao Ming? One thing I think about whenever I think of Ginobili — or GINOBILI! — is how he always seems to be going diagonally while everyone else is going up and down or side to side. I don’t know how Ginobili figured this out — is he a master of geometry? — but somehow it works, and it works every time.

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> Paul Pierce, Josh Smith or Lance Stephenson? Who will have the biggest impact on the Clippers next season?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: Lance Stephenson, because he has the most to prove. I’m an admirer of Paul Pierce, but enough already with the “He’ll show them how to win” claims — the Clippers’ main guys shouldn’t need those lessons or a motivational coach at this point. Josh Smith sounds like he’s bummed that his semi-redemptive stay in Houston didn’t pay off bigger and might start rationalizing his downward career arc. That leaves Stephenson, who is hitting his prime and desperately needs to put last year’s Charlotte embarrassment behind him. If Doc Rivers, Chris Paul and Pierce have the patience, and Stephenson finds the dedication, there’s remarkable talent there in need of focusing and tapping.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: For the Clippers’ sake, they’d better hope it’s Paul Pierce. Intelligence, veteran leadership, postseason success and clutch play are all things that could help take the Clippers to the next level. The kind of impact they could get from Josh Smith or Lance Stephenson might sound like a pumpkin dropped off a roof.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: From a psychological standpoint I’ll go with Pierce, if only because he has “it” and as we know to this point, the Clippers don’t (Raptors joke there). That said, Stephenson is better equipped to give better on-court production provided he’s the Indiana Lance and not the Charlotte Lance. Or rather, Lance-A-Lot instead of Lance-A-Little.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Stephenson could have the biggest negative impact if he shoots as poorly as he did last season in Charlotte and becomes a locker room distraction like he was two years ago in Indiana. But though he’s also a poor shooter, Smith could help the Clippers where they need it most: on defense. The Clips had the No. 1 offense in the league last year, but ranked 15th defensively. And the defense was at its worst with reserves on the floor. So if Smith can help shore it up in key moments, that could go a long way in helping the Clips contend for a top seed in the West, while keeping the starters fresh.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: While I believe both Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson will average more minutes than Paul Pierce, I don’t think there is any doubt that Pierce will have the biggest impact on the Clippers next season. His leadership skills and the things that he brings to a team, both tangible and intangible, far outweigh whatever the other two guys will bring to the situation. Just look at the tone he set in the locker room in Washington if you need proof. Pierce is the ultimate competitor and still has enough left in the tank to serve as a crunch-time assassin. He’s fearless, even in the twilight of his career. And with a three-year deal, he knows he’s in this for the duration and not just a one-year rental. His impact could be the difference between a Clippers team that falters in the conference semifinals and one that finally breaks through to the next level.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: I’m going with Stephenson, for three reasons — No.1: He should be more coachable than ever, coming off his terrible season with Charlotte; No. 2: He’ll be playing for a coach in Doc Rivers who should be able to reach him; and No. 3: He’ll be filling a huge need for a contender that needs help off the bench. (All of that applies to the regular season, of course; if we’re talking about the playoffs, then Pierce should be the big difference-maker, based on his ability to turn losses into wins instantly.)

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All-Ball Blog: The most interesting thing to me is that each player can have an impact in different ways. We know Paul Pierce can still make big shots, but at this point in his career I’m not sure he can or will log enough minutes to have a regular impact on games. Which Lance Stephenson did the Clippers get? Stephenson could make a impact defensively, but his 3-point shooting last year was below average, and playing alongside Chris Paul would seem to lessen the need for Stephenson to have the ball in his hands at the end of games. Which leaves us with Josh Smith, who actually played a big part in knocking the Clippers out of the postseason a few months ago. Smith is versatile enough to play many different positions, and I think he should benefit greatly from playing alongside Paul, who will put him positions where he can be successful. So I’ll go with Smith.

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> It looks like playoff teams will be seeded 1-8 next season based on won-loss record alone, with no lift in the seedings for a division title. Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or much ado about nothing?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: It’s a good thing, because geography already plays enough of a role in the pursuit of an NBA title in the assignment of East vs. West affiliation. No need to have arbitrary division groupings trump actual W-L records. For those teams to whom a division title still matters, they can hang the banners in their rafters or at their practice facilities and keep dreaming of bigger prizes. But the rest of us don’t have to dwell on what often is a big-fish, small-pond achievement.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: It’s a good thing. The regular season is all about compiling the best record for playoff seeding and home-court advantage, and simply seeding 1-8 is the most fair, sensible system. Portland getting the No. 4 seed based on winning a weakened Northwest Division last season warped the Western Conference bracket and resulted in a 55-win defending champion San Antonio team getting bounced in the first round. In addition, the Rockets were given home-court advantage over the Clippers in the second round based on winning the Southwest title, despite losing the first two tiebreakers. Ranking 1-8 makes everything clean and rational.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: It’s due. Nobody cares about division standings — seriously, who remembers who won the Atlantic two years ago? — and this way, teams will be properly seeded based on record, as they should. Long time coming.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Basically a good thing, with a dash of much ado about nothing. All divisions aren’t created equal and schedules within the conference are even enough that division affiliation shouldn’t play a part in how teams are seeded in the playoffs. At the same time, the outrage over seeding has been a bit overblown. You still have to win 12 games to get to The Finals and the best team in the conference will almost always get there, no matter how the teams are seeded.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: It’s a good thing. Division titles? Plenty of folks who love the game are not sure what divisions these teams play in. They know come playoff time the top 8 from each side of the conference divide are making it into the field of teams vying for a championship, and ultimately that’s all that really matters. There was a time and place for the divisional format and its importance. That time has passed. And we all know the next step is taking the top 16 regardless of conference, but that’s a question for another day.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: It’s the right thing. Divisions play into regional rivalries, but they shouldn’t be subsidized by a higher seeding. The Spurs will tell you that this is important – their championship hopes would have been elevated by this rule last season.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All-Ball Blog: I think it’s much ado about nothing. But at the same time it does make me wonder, why do we still have divisions if there’s no incentive to winning your division? So a team that wins their division can have a banner-raising ceremony? And what happens down the road if a division is particularly terrible, so much so that a team wins their division and still doesn’t qualify for the playoffs? I suppose in some ways this reflects the way the world works today, as we are a flatter planet and less local than ever.

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> Finals MVP Andre Iguodala will come off the bench again next season for the Warriors. So give me your 2015-16 All NBA Bench Team.

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: Iguodala is a starter on any All-Bench team, so to speak. The reigning Sixth Man winner, Lou Williams, still merits a spot despite switching teams (Toronto to Lakers). Boston’s Isaiah Thomas finished second and seems a perfect instant-offense option to solidify his role. It’s a little more crowded now on the Clippers’ depth chart, but Jamal Crawford knows how to make an impact in whatever minutes he gets. Then I’ll take Chicago’s Taj Gibson, who was a Sixth Man favorite for a lot of us a couple season ago before post-contract extension pressure and injuries knocked him off track.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: Iguodala, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford, Isaiah Thomas, Tristan Thompson. All had major roles with their teams, and in the case of Thompson, he got better once elevated to the starting lineup once Kevin Love was done. Still stunned that the Suns gave up on Thomas, who has a very team-friendly contract and gets buckets.

Wings – Corey Brewer (important role player for Houston) and Andre Iguodala (still one of the most complete players in the league)

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: Andre Iguodala headlines the 2015-16 All- NBA Bench Team and is joined by Tristan Thompson of Cleveland, Jamal Crawford of the Clippers, David West of San Antonio and Lou Williams of the Lakers. They could all be starters somewhere, but they’ll serve as super subs for their respective teams. And if Thompson continues the work we saw from him in the playoffs, he might be my frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year on a loaded Cleveland squad that deploys a healthy Kevin Love as its starting power forward.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: Lance Stephenson is listed by the Clippers as a guard, but he’ll be spending a lot of time at forward when they go small:

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All-Ball Blog: Well, Iguodala is on there, for starters. (OK, not for starters, but you know what I mean.) Manu Ginobilishould always be in any conversation about the best bench players. I’ll also go with Ty Lawson in Houston, Tristan Thompson in Cleveland, and I’m not sure who else is coming off the bench for the Clippers, but Jamal Crawford is a perennial Sixth Man of the Year contender, to me.

Each week, we’ll ask our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the most important NBA topics of the day — and then give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> What will we see first: a woman in an NBA head coach’s office, or a woman in the oval office?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: This question risks getting political, which would violate the Michael Jordan rule of sports — that is, Democrats and Republicans both spend money on the NBA — so it serves no good purpose alienating either. From a simple timeline standpoint, if there’s no woman in the White House by January 2017, it probably wouldn’t happen until January 2021 at the earliest — by which time Becky Hammon or someone else certainly would have been hired (and, demonstrating true equality in that profession, maybe even fired by then too). My one hope is that, whichever happens first, it happens because of merit, not symbolism.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: How about we just vote Becky Hammon president and let her appoint Gregg Popovich as Secretary of Snarling? I’m going with the Oval Office.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: I like Hillary Clinton’s chances better than Becky Hammon’s. And speaking of Hammon, I want to see her on the bench one day soon, but would hate if she’s rushed along just for the sake of making history. Hammon has only been an assistant coach for one season and doesn’t even sit next to Popovich on the Spurs’ bench yet. By comparison, Mike Budenholzer spent 16 years on the Spurs’ bench before taking the Hawks’ job (and winning Coach of the Year).

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: A Spurs assistant coach doesn’t need to be in the chair next to Gregg Popovich to get poached by another team (see Jacque Vaughn to Orlando), and Becky Hammon’s Summer League experience definitely accelerates her progress toward a head coaching job. But I’ll still go with the Oval Office, because there’s a decent chance of happening in January of 2017.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: It pains me that this question still needs to be asked in 2015. Seriously. They are both long overdue. But I’m going with the Oval Office, mostly because of the competency of the candidate already neck-deep in the race. The fact is, any knuckledragger still underestimating the ability of someone of any gender, race, creed or color to do the job needs to be voted off the island. I’ve listened for days now about people worrying that a female coach might not be able to connect in a NBA locker room and struggling to garner respect from her potential peers and others. It’s garbage. Every coach is going to face that challenge at one time or another. And while we’re on the subject, no woman will be able to prove those foolish theories wrong until someone in the decision-making ranks musters the courage to give her the shot. Just saying.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: Right now you have to say that Hillary Clinton is closer to her goal than Becky Hammon is to hers — but someday there will be women in both chairs.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All-Ball Blog: Either way, I think we’re going to see one of these happen soon. Forced to choose, my guess is we get a woman president first, maybe even next year. Becky Hammon obviously proved her worth as an NBA coach, but winning a Summer League title isn’t an automatic guarantee of success as an NBA coach, or even a direct ticket to a head coaching gig. Although put to a public vote, I suspect there are a few fanbases that might vote to give Hammon a chance immediately.

July 9, 2015 · 11:25AM

In this special edition of the Blogtable, we’re asking our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the DeAndre Jordan free-agency saga — and give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> Emoji wars, Twitter all abuzz, Mavs and Clippers assembling a la The Avengers to sway DeAndre — which of these things (or maybe something else) will you most remember from the DeAndre decision?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: What we witnessed wasn’t unprecedented, but it ought to be. Breaking a verbal agreement isn’t honorable, nor is swooping in at the 11th hour to encourage it. Had Jordan told all involved he would mull over his decision until the moratorium ended, fine, he’d have remained in play. But that’s not how this went. This sort of episode encourages cut-throat behavior all around. And unfortunately, there were some marking execs and media types loving it simply because it “had people talking about the NBA” for one more summer day. Yeah, well, carnival geeks get people talking, too. What I’ll likely remember from this is that, instead of teams only lining up at 12:01 a.m. on July 1 to be the first ones in the room with a new free agent, this is what started them mobilizing at 11:59 p.m. at the moratorium’s back end to be the last ones in the room. Just to make sure a deal is a deal is a deal.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: Just the thought of Doc Rivers and Blake Grifin barricading the doors of DeAndre’s house with furniture against a possible invasion of desperate Cubanites waving stacks of cash and the image of Chris Paul riding to the rescue on a banana boat. And hoo boy, am I looking forward to the announcement of the 2015-16 schedule with the Clippers at Dallas on Christmas. C’mon, Adam Silver. Show us you get it.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com: Don’t mention the E word again. I’m doing everything possible to un-see that part of the silliness, although I’m afraid we’ve just seen the start of a trend. The rest of it will be impossible to forget, especially the biggest takeaway of all: How the fate of two franchises changed in one crazy day as the world followed along. The basketball part is the bottom line because that will have implications for years. We may not know the real outcome of Wednesday for years, until seeing how things turned out for the Clippers and Mavericks. DeAndre Jordan showed a lack of maturity and professionalism by not doing the very least he could do and treat Dallas with respect, but that’s for him to sort through. The rest of us will watch the basketball aspect unfold.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: What I’ll remember is sitting in my chair for 8 hours reading Twitter, the longest I’ve been locked on that site continuously in like forever. Blake Griffin dropped the Twitter mic with the chair-against-the-door pic. I think he has a future in entertainment.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Blake Griffin’s tweet of the chair against the front door was my favorite moment. It made me laugh out loud and then have to explain the entire ridiculous situation to my wife.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: The emoji war was epic, with Kobe Bryant and eventually the fine folks from @Jumpman23 dropping the mic on a crazy day that proved to be Twitter gold for all involved. If the Clippers find their way to the conference finals and perhaps beyond during the next five years, then maybe I’ll change my mind. But until then, the mobilization of the Clippers’ entire basketball operation to get to Houston and secure DeAndre’s services will continue to stick out as the most memorable part of this experience for me.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: It will be worth remembering only if Jordan proves to be worthy of the trouble: Can he help lead his team to the NBA Finals? If so, thenwe’re all going to be looking back on the Clippers’ principals pulling tighter together around Jordan at his house last night, with the focus being on Chris Paul’s emotional plea to his teammate. But if they’re unable to rally, then this little plot twist will have no staying power (apart from possibly leading the NBA to change the timing of the moratorium).

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: Someone on Twitter noted that this whole saga was tailor-made for the All Ball blog, and I have to agree. Emojis, Blake Griffin making jokes, Mark Cuban allegedly driving aimlessly around Houston while texting furiously, Paul Pierce tweeting out clip art — it was quite an evening. It was one of the most memorable NBA evenings I can recall that didn’t actually have anything to do with basketball. I love this game.

July 9, 2015 · 11:25AM

In this special edition of the Blogtable, we’re asking our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the DeAndre Jordan free-agency saga — and give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> What does his return do for the Clippers given their other reported offseason moves? Where do they now rank in the West hierarchy?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: The Clippers avoid a drop in the Western Conference standings with this move – they were looking at retreads or minimum-salary types to man the center spot if Jordan had left. But they’re still not cracking the top three out West – Golden State, San Antonio, Memphis – and to me, it’s the latest example of that franchise’s frantic, emotional, not-quite-professional way of doing things. It doesn’t instill new confidence the Clippers can get through tough postseason times.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: What the Clippers avoided was falling like a piano off a roof. They are in the same place they ranked last season, fighting to be in the upper half of the West bracket, a step below Golden State, San Antonio and OKC, duking it out with Houston and Memphis for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com: Obviously it is a dramatic change. It’s a double blow, keeping the Clippers in a prominent place after all while undercutting the Mavericks’ hopes of being in the upper echelon. We have to see how the rest of the summer turns out rather than give daily updates on where teams rank because the situation is so fluid. A lot of teams are still filling out depth charts. But this minute, the Clippers are behind the lead group of Golden State and San Antonio, part of the pack with OKC, Houston and Memphis in some order.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: Obviously this is a game-changer for the Clippers. They went from JaVale McGee to DeAndre. So it’s fair to say they didn’t lose their place in line in the West. That said, the other offseason pieces must deliver in order for the Clippers to go deep into spring. Paul Pierce can’t fall off the cliff just yet. Lance Stephenson must straighten his head and his game in a hurry. And there’s still questions about the depth of the bench especially at point guard.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: The Clippers avoided wasting, in regard to contending for a championship, a season of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin at their best. They’re still gambling on Lance Stephenson and they still need to hope that their big three stays healthy, because they don’t have anyone to back up any of them right now. But they’ll go into the season as a top-six team in the Western Conference, certainly behind Golden State and San Antonio, and in the mix with Houston, Memphis and Oklahoma City. They can truly contend for a title if coach Doc Rivers can somehow get another reliable contributor with what little flexibility he has left (minimum-contract offers and Jamal Crawford‘s tradeable deal) and if they can improve defensively.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com:DeAndre’s return keeps the Clippers firmly entrenched in the upper echelon of the Western Conference standings. They are still a top-four or-five team in the West and one of the best teams in the league. I’m more interested in the impact both Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson will have on this group, on and off the floor, more than I am DeAndre’s return. The Clippers know what they have in their big man. Those other guys remain a mystery.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: The last couple of years have shown how much injuries and other surprises can influence the outcome – the key is to enter next season with a competitive roster and coaching staff, and the Clippers will be right there. They can excel at both ends, their depth has improved and they should be loaded with hungry players, from their Big Three (who collapsed on the verge of the conference finals) to Lance Stephenson (who should be receptive to Doc Rivers’ coaching after a horrible season with Charlotte). I can also envision them adding another player in midseason to add to their run. This was a big summer for the Clippers, and year three with Rivers should be their culmination.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: With Jordan, I’d still have the Clippers third, behind Golden State and San Antonio. Not sure which version of Lance Stephenson they’ll get, but if they get Indiana Pacers Lance instead of Charlotte Hornets Lance, they might be able to leapfrog those teams. Interestingly, I also think the key there is Jordan, and whether he’s able to continue to develop and be more than a 10 ppg scorer and develop into more of an offensive threat. They still need a bench, of course, but that core of CP3, Blake and DeAndre is going to be what makes the Clips a contender.

July 9, 2015 · 11:25AM

In this special edition of the Blogtable, we’re asking our stable of scribes across the globe to weigh in on the DeAndre Jordan free-agency saga — and give you a chance to step on the scale, too, in the comments below.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> How does his change of heart affect the Mavericks, their offseason moves and the upcoming season? Where do they now rank in the West hierarchy?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: This is potentially devastating to Dallas, which won 50 games last season and now will be doing well not to lose 50. The options left among available big men are limited – Amar’e Stoudemire‘s name has come up, but he’s strictly a limited-minutes guy at this point, and neither Kevin Seraphin nor Josh Smith is a center, for those suggesting them. Owner Mark Cuban‘s “David Robinson year” remark might actually play out, and that’s tough to imagine for Dirk Nowitzki, coach Rick Carlisle and a few others. I am looking forward, though, to seeing Dallas sign Rick Mahorn and Charles Oakley to 1-day contracts for the first Clippers-Mavericks meeting this season. Just to dish out reminders to Jordan and a couple of his teammate-rescuers that this episode won’t soon be forgotten.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: The Mavericks are burnt toast for the 2015-16 season, another waste of one of Dirk Nowitzki’s last years and that’s the worst part of the flip-flop. Dallas is in the lottery, up to its 10-gallon hat. But I’m going on the record here as saying Mark Cuban will be thankful this happened in a couple of years. While Jordan is worth the price to the Clippers to keep him as the third wheel with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, he would have been badly exposed as Cuban’s so-called “franchise player” down the line. It was a bad joke to even mention him in the same breath as Shaquille O’Neal. I think Jordan might even have realized that himself and ran from that burden.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com:It’s a brutal outcome for the Mavs. It’s not like DeAndre Jordan turned them down and they implemented the fallback plan. By the time he had finished mishandling the situation at historical levels, they were scrambling for the fallback plan to the fallback plan. The Dallas front office began the offseason with a clear plan, executed it with precision… and then got it fell apart through no fault of anyone there. If Wesley Matthews comes back strong, the Mavericks will be around .500, respectable but not in the playoffs. And they will have a lot of people rooting for them.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: I think there’s a silver lining to losing DeAndre. I always thought the Mavericks with him were nothing special … maybe a No. 6 or 7 team in the West. This way, they can get a jump on rebuilding and stash their millions for next summer and plan to transition from the Dirk Nowitzki era.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Dallas is where the Clippers were 24 hours ago. They have a strong starting lineup, with a huge hole at center. Unlike the Clippers, they have a lot of cap space. But while there are a lot of centers still available, they’re all back-up quality. So I could see them trading for Chris Andersen or Zaza Pachulia. As they stand, they’re in the 8-10 range in the Western Conference, with the health and recovery of Wes Matthews still being a big question.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com: This is the strange part for me — I didn’t think adding DeAndre was a gamechanger for the Mavericks. Sure, he would help shore up the middle. But without an elite point guard feeding him, I don’t know that he would have been a consistent force for the Mavericks on both ends of the floor. The Mavericks certainly don’t have any options comparable to DJ now, and that’s a potentially devastating blow for a franchise that is contemplating the dreaded rebuild. I don’t like the idea of Dirk Nowitzki on a lottery team in his twilight years, but in the absence of some miraculous move between now and training camp, that’s the predicament these guys could be in this season.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: The Mavericks are going to miss the playoffs, and they may lose their draft pick to the Celtics (unless it lands among the top seven) by way of the Rondo trade. The silver lining will emerge one year from now if they can turn Jordan’s absence into a superior free agent in 2016. But this interim season is going to be a long one for a team that figures to have no identity at either end of the floor.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: Without DeAndre, I’m not sure that they do rank among the West hierarchy. The Western Conference is so stacked, and if you’re looking for playoff teams that might drop out of the picture to make room for teams like Oklahoma City, Phoenix or Utah, I’d look directly at Portland (after losing LaMarcus Aldridge) and Dallas. Losing Monta Ellis will hurt, and while Wesley Matthews should be a nice addition, he’s still recovering from a torn Achilles. Jordan could have given them a nice frontline alongside Dirk and Chandler Parsons. Now they need Dirk to play like MVP Dirk. And I’m not sure that player still exists.

Your browser does not support iframes.

> Do the Lakers or Knicks have the tougher road back to respectability and why?

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com: My hunch is, the Knicks are going to have a harder time getting back to a level at which they’re considered legitimate contenders for an NBA title. As shaky as the master plan might seem in L.A., it’s shakier in New York, what with James Dolan‘s can’t-help-himself meddling and Phil Jackson‘s half-in, half-out, triangle-devoted, smartest-guy-in-the-room theoretical approach. Carmelo Anthony‘s contract will be an albatross with legs compared to Kobe Bryant‘s one-more-season-of-fiscal-pain deal. The ex-Lakers as coaches, Byron Scott vs. Derek Fisher, that’s kind of a push, in my view. The respective rosters? Meh. What it finally comes down to, I suppose, is that I’ll take my chances with Mitch Kupchak over anyone at the Garden.

Fran Blinebury, NBA.com: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Now we’ve lowered the bar for the top two cities in the country from behind championship contenders to merely “respectability?” In that case, have to go with the Lakers, who are starting out with two young talents in Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell to just a single Kristaps Porzingas in New York. Also when Kobe Bryant leaves — it will happen eventually, won’t it? — the draw of the L.A. market, the Hollywood image and all that entails will allow the Lakers to attract talent.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com: The Lakers have the tougher road, because they play in the tougher conference. As much as what was once a wide gulf has closed, the East is still more forgiving. If you want to use making the playoffs as a cutline for respectability, the Knicks can get there quicker. One other factor in the question: It is possible both teams could be in the lottery but not have their 2016 first-round pick.

Shaun Powell, NBA.com: It’s the Knicks with the tougher climb.Kristaps Porzingis will probably need more time to grow than D’Angelo Russell and Kobe Bryant comes off the Lakers cap next summer while Melo will weigh it down for the Knicks at least 3 more years. The Lakers can start anew next summer with Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo plus tons of cap space to chase Durant. Who knows, in 2 years they could possibly sway Blake Griffin to switch L.A. teams and/or get ex-UCLA star Russell Westbrook to “come home.” Bottom line is, with their management situation, the Lakers don’t have an “easy” road to recovery, just easier than the Knicks.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: It’s the Knicks. As these two teams stand and given decent health, the Knicks will be the better team next season. But at best, that’s good enough to finish 8-11 in the East, which isn’t saying much. In regard to a five-year plan and eventually winning another playoff series, the Lakers have better pieces in place (Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell), as well as more financial flexibility in the next couple of summers, when they won’t be handcuffed by Kobe Bryant‘s contract.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com:The Knicks, without question. This wasn’t the summer I expected the Lakers to remake themselves in free agency. Next summer is when they’ll have the flexibility to get that done and youngsters D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle will have a full NBA season under their belts. We’ve already seen enough of the Knicks, and that’s without Arron Afflalo, Kristaps Porzingis and Robin Lopez in the mix. The Lakers have the luxury of their biggest salaries coming off the books for next summer while the Knicks will not have nearly as much financial flexibility.

Ian Thomsen, NBA.com: The Lakers have won championships recently, and Jeanie Buss is asserting leadership and demanding accountability. These are big advantages. Knowing how to win — and especially how to make winning the priority — is a huge deal in the NBA. Can Phil Jackson introduce that point of view to the Knicks? We won’t know until he’s actually done it.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com’s All Ball blog: I suppose the answer here depends upon what we define as “respectability.” To me, being a playoff team would be respectable, and in that sense, the Lakers have really tough road ahead of them. The Western Conference is so stacked, it’s going to be a multi-year process for any franchise hoping to become a perennial playoff power. Just initially, take last year’s eight playoff teams, and then add Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah, Minnesota, who are all right there on the cusp. That’s a significant mountain for any team to climb.